usvi-on-line
St. John on a budget
St. John on a budget
Inspired by gymnatika's trip report, combined with my desire to return ASAP and my inability to afford it...
I'm looking for any and all tips to keep costs at a minimum for a trip to St. John. This includes:
- Times to go (seasons, months, plan far ahead or last minute)
- Where/how to find the cheapest flights
- Places to stay (camping, condos, villas)
- Items to bring from home (food, gear)
- Modes of transportation
- Affordable excursions
Basically I'm trying to convince my husband that despite the recent purchase of our first home, we can still go back to STJ within the next year!
All suggestions are welcome!
I'm looking for any and all tips to keep costs at a minimum for a trip to St. John. This includes:
- Times to go (seasons, months, plan far ahead or last minute)
- Where/how to find the cheapest flights
- Places to stay (camping, condos, villas)
- Items to bring from home (food, gear)
- Modes of transportation
- Affordable excursions
Basically I'm trying to convince my husband that despite the recent purchase of our first home, we can still go back to STJ within the next year!
All suggestions are welcome!
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IslandDreaming
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 1:47 pm
Times to go (seasons, months, plan far ahead or last minute)
June though October is hurricane season so the prices are at their lowest.
Where/how to find the cheapest flights
Join a frequent flier program
Best Fares.com, Orbitz.com, etc.
Places to stay (camping, condos, villas)
Cinnamon Bay camp ground
Cruz View Condos
Items to bring from home (food, gear)
You can bring whatever you want. However, I would suggest getting milk, eggs on island.
Modes of transportation
Walk
June though October is hurricane season so the prices are at their lowest.
Where/how to find the cheapest flights
Join a frequent flier program
Best Fares.com, Orbitz.com, etc.
Places to stay (camping, condos, villas)
Cinnamon Bay camp ground
Cruz View Condos
Items to bring from home (food, gear)
You can bring whatever you want. However, I would suggest getting milk, eggs on island.
Modes of transportation
Walk
I've done some very low budget trips in the past. Baresite camping at Cinnamon Bay and Ivan's and hauling all of your dry foods backpacking style is fun, if that's all you can do. The cheapest lodgings are a shared bare site at Cinnamon Bay. I'd save this for the cooler months.
The best way to save money is to travel with a group of 8 and only pay 1/8 of the expenses after airfare. You can do an inexpensive off season villa with a pool for less than $500 per heard (edit: I really meant head, but herd is right too! Moo!).
Hillcrest Guesthouse, Samuels Cottages, Coconut Coast, Star Villas, Cruz Views and Serendip are all on the less expensive scale in Cruz Bay. A soloist should look at the singles rooms at Tamarind Court.
You can rent an inexpensive front-wheel-drive car on STT and take it over on the car barge. Personally, if I needed to go cheap for a week I'd rent a car for two days in the middle of the week and hit Saloman and Honeymoon or cab it the rest of the time.
Good luck!
The best way to save money is to travel with a group of 8 and only pay 1/8 of the expenses after airfare. You can do an inexpensive off season villa with a pool for less than $500 per heard (edit: I really meant head, but herd is right too! Moo!).
Hillcrest Guesthouse, Samuels Cottages, Coconut Coast, Star Villas, Cruz Views and Serendip are all on the less expensive scale in Cruz Bay. A soloist should look at the singles rooms at Tamarind Court.
You can rent an inexpensive front-wheel-drive car on STT and take it over on the car barge. Personally, if I needed to go cheap for a week I'd rent a car for two days in the middle of the week and hit Saloman and Honeymoon or cab it the rest of the time.
Good luck!
Last edited by RickG on Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
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IslandDreaming
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 1:47 pm
I've done budget and not-budget trips, and here I some things I've learned:
Time of year: obviously, hurricane season is cheapest and a bonus is that it tends to be less crowded. I've gone over Christmas (NOT cheap!) and in August, and I preferred August. The water is warm and calm, fewer people, cheaper rates for accomodations and car rentals. We buy trip insurance for peace of mind, but that is fairly cheap. We're going again 2 weeks from Friday.
Cheapest flights: can't help with that, but we used FF miles for one ticket and vouchers for another for our upcoming trip, and that saved a lot of $$
Places to stay: we've stayed at a fancy villa, Maho Bay Campground, Concordia Eco-Tents, and this time we compromised and we're staying at Luna Vista. In August we found Maho too hot, and Concordia less so, but a little too far off the beaten path for us. Luna Vista has AC in the bedrooms, a splash pool, is new, and is way up high with beautiful views, but it's very reasonable. It's not a private villa, since the owners live upstairs, but all reports have been very positive. We've thought about staying at Hillcrest, Samuel Cottages, and Cruz Views as possibilities, too, but I really wanted a nice view and proximity to the beaches we like, and Luna Vista fit the bill.
Food: we have brought small non-perishables before, but this time we are joining the Polar Bear Cooler/Techni Ice club! You all convinced me. We bought a 24-pack sized cooler and we'll fill it with frozen, good-quality meats and cheeses. We eat out very rarely and save money that way. We usually eat at a few cheaper places (faves are Uncle Joe's, Skinny Legs, Beach Bar), and we normally splurge on one or two nicer meals each trip. I definitely want to go back to Sweet Plantains this time--loved it last time! I have also never made it to Shipwreck Landing, so we may try that this time, too. I also like Rhumblines. We have never gone to the really fancy places since we've always had kids with us, but that probably just saves us more money!
Modes of transportation: we have always rented a car on STJ before, but this time I decided we could save money and hassle by renting on STT. We'll save money on taxi/ferry fees (there are 4 of us this time), have a cheaper rental rate, and hopefully we'll have time to shop for cheaper groceries on STT before getting the car barge. Added plus: no shlepping of luggage to the taxi-ferry-car rental agency! That was the final deciding factor for me.
Affordable excursions: our favorite activity in the world is snorkeling, which is free. We have also enjoyed touring the Annaberg ruins and school, also free. In the past we have done sailing trips, but my husband is not all that crazy about being on a boat so we're skipping that this time. We are booked to do the Reef Bay Trail hike sponsored by the NPS, which isn't terribly expensive ($21 per person for transportation).
Good luck with trip planning!
Time of year: obviously, hurricane season is cheapest and a bonus is that it tends to be less crowded. I've gone over Christmas (NOT cheap!) and in August, and I preferred August. The water is warm and calm, fewer people, cheaper rates for accomodations and car rentals. We buy trip insurance for peace of mind, but that is fairly cheap. We're going again 2 weeks from Friday.
Cheapest flights: can't help with that, but we used FF miles for one ticket and vouchers for another for our upcoming trip, and that saved a lot of $$
Places to stay: we've stayed at a fancy villa, Maho Bay Campground, Concordia Eco-Tents, and this time we compromised and we're staying at Luna Vista. In August we found Maho too hot, and Concordia less so, but a little too far off the beaten path for us. Luna Vista has AC in the bedrooms, a splash pool, is new, and is way up high with beautiful views, but it's very reasonable. It's not a private villa, since the owners live upstairs, but all reports have been very positive. We've thought about staying at Hillcrest, Samuel Cottages, and Cruz Views as possibilities, too, but I really wanted a nice view and proximity to the beaches we like, and Luna Vista fit the bill.
Food: we have brought small non-perishables before, but this time we are joining the Polar Bear Cooler/Techni Ice club! You all convinced me. We bought a 24-pack sized cooler and we'll fill it with frozen, good-quality meats and cheeses. We eat out very rarely and save money that way. We usually eat at a few cheaper places (faves are Uncle Joe's, Skinny Legs, Beach Bar), and we normally splurge on one or two nicer meals each trip. I definitely want to go back to Sweet Plantains this time--loved it last time! I have also never made it to Shipwreck Landing, so we may try that this time, too. I also like Rhumblines. We have never gone to the really fancy places since we've always had kids with us, but that probably just saves us more money!
Modes of transportation: we have always rented a car on STJ before, but this time I decided we could save money and hassle by renting on STT. We'll save money on taxi/ferry fees (there are 4 of us this time), have a cheaper rental rate, and hopefully we'll have time to shop for cheaper groceries on STT before getting the car barge. Added plus: no shlepping of luggage to the taxi-ferry-car rental agency! That was the final deciding factor for me.
Affordable excursions: our favorite activity in the world is snorkeling, which is free. We have also enjoyed touring the Annaberg ruins and school, also free. In the past we have done sailing trips, but my husband is not all that crazy about being on a boat so we're skipping that this time. We are booked to do the Reef Bay Trail hike sponsored by the NPS, which isn't terribly expensive ($21 per person for transportation).
Good luck with trip planning!
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bayer40601
- Posts: 612
- Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:06 pm
- Location: Kentucky
It doesn't matter. I AM NOT traveling with either, even if it's cheaper.bayer40601 wrote:Would that be a heard of goats or a heard of cattle?Rick G said: ...for less than $500 per heard.
When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years after it happens anywhere else. – Mark Twain
Thanks for the chuckle...keep up the good work! 
